Immigration undoubtedly ranks at the top of the list regarding issues that matter to voters worldwide. However, concerns about immigration are nothing new, with large bands of human beings migrating since the dawn of man.
Few regions of the world have seen as many people pass through its boundaries as the Caucasus Mountains, located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Aside from its natural beauty, which attracts thousands of visitors yearly, the Caucasus Mountains have attracted human beings moving between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East for thousands of years.
The discovery of what researchers believe could be a massive ancient fortress, 3,000 years old, in Georgia, can force scholars to rethink how they view this region of the world entirely and its importance in the illustrious story of humanity.
It should come as no surprise that this region of the world has become a hotbed for archeology, with researchers uncovering impressive finds from a long list of people groups and ancient societies on a near daily basis. Just recently, for example, archaeologists uncovered a mysterious stone tablet marked with an unknown language in the modern-day nation of Georgia.
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Researchers Uncover An Ancient Fortress Of Epic Proportions Right Under Their Noses In Georgia
Archaeologists started researching a site in the Caucuses Mountains in 2018 but just discovered this site contains more than meets the eye
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Humans have traveled through the Caucasus Mountains for thousands of years, with many races tracing their heritage to this desolate part of the globe. After all, the Caucasus Mountains, located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, sit between Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. These settlements and migrations over the years have made this region of the world a hotbed for archaeological discoveries, which helps historians understand how many people's groups ended up where they are today.
In 2018, for example, Dr. Nathaniel Erb-Satullo, a senior lecturer in Architectural Science at Cranfield Forensic Institute, along with Dimitri Jachvliani of the Georgian National Museum, began researching and excavating a site in the South Caucuses containing a substantial fortress settlement. Erd-Satullo and Jachvliani refer to this site as Dmanisis Gora, located in Southcentral Georgia, just a couple of miles from the border of Armenia.
At first glance, this research team believed that the ruins resembled a Bronze Age fortress, finding the fortress to be as old as 3500 years old. Similar fortresses have been found from modern-day Israel to the Ancient Acropolis of Mycenae, perhaps the largest city of Bronze Age Greece, which thousands of tourists visit every year.
Its location between two deep gorges in the middle of the Caucuses makes this ancient fortress an easily defendable location.
Other similar fortresses can be found worldwide, including the eye-catching fortress city of Fasil Ghebbi in Ethiopia, which features 20 palaces and other buildings, which tourists flock to regularly.
However, upon closer inspection and with the use of advanced drone technology, it dawned on the research team that this fortress could be much larger than they could have ever imagined.
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Drone Footage Shows That The Dmanisis Gora Site Is Much Larger Than Originally Thought
Upon closer inspection, it appears that the Dmanisis Gora site is much larger than anybody could have ever imagined
Upon arriving at the site of Dmanisis Gora, Dr. Erb-Satullo and Dimitri Jachvliani marveled at the site, noting its massive four-meter-thick walls, taking to X to share their findings. This research team then unleashed a fleet of drones on the site, which revealed a new perspective on this ancient fortress, nestled in one of the most crucial crossroads for humanity.
After a close look at the drone footage, it appeared as if the site of Dmanisis Gora was much larger than anybody thought, with stone fortification walls and other stone structures surrounding the site of what researchers now call the "inner fortress." Dr Erb-Satullo reflected on these findings, revealing that the drone helped to show him and his team that this site was about 40 times larger than originally thought.
He then claimed, "The use of drones has allowed us to understand the significance of the site and document it in a way that simply wouldn't be possible on the ground," adding, "Dmanisis Gora isn't just a significant find for the Southern Caucasus region, but has a broader significance for the diversity in the structure of large-scale settlements and their formation processes."
"The use of drones has allowed us to understand the significance of the site and document it in a way that simply wouldn't be possible on the ground. Dmanisis Gora isn't just a significant find for the Southern Caucasus region, but has a broader significance for the diversity in the structure of large-scale settlements and their formation processes." - Dr. Nathaniel Erb-Satullo
The research team at Dmanisis Gora believes that the ancient settlement started with the original walled fortress and expanded in later years due to its relations with "mobile pastoral groups" or, in other words, to protect farmers and cattle rearers in the area.
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The Findings At Dmansis Gora Have Forced Scholars To Rethink How People Lived In This Crucial Area During The Bronze Age
Dr. Erb-Satullo's team has helped rewrite the history books with their jaw-dropping discoveries
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The recent discoveries at the Dmanisis Gora site reveal that Bronze Age fortresses in the South Caucasus region were not just small stone fortresses protecting small groups of people but rather expansive communities that overlooked massive swathes of land. Furthermore, this discovery demonstrates the power of drone technology, which allows researchers and archaeologists to get a valuable bird's eye view of the area they are excavating.
Although drones can sometimes scare people, multiple drone sightings at a time have even shut down airport operations in some parts of the world, like the US East Coast, and they can serve as powerful tools if used correctly. In the case of Dmansis Gora, drones allowed Dr. Erb-Satullo and his team to discover vast expanses of the fortress they had been studying, completely changing how they viewed this site.
Many agree that drone technology could usher in a new golden age of archeology, giving researchers new perspectives and access to sites and images only birds can see. This could lead to even more exciting discoveries, which will help reveal secrets about humanity's past, allowing people to better understand the present and the future.
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These discoveries also help people in the South Caucasus region understand their heritage better. Every year, thousands of tourists visit the nations in this region, such as Georgia, which boasts a European capital that offers tourists a unique experience at a relatively low price.
People in this region hope that further discoveries will attract even more tourism to this captivating region of the world. And as far as archeology goes, this discovery shows that this region has many more secrets waiting to be discovered by an eager researcher.